Paris

"Optimum+ is finding its customers," assures Benjamin Huteau, Director of the South-East TGV Inoui Division, who this week presented an initial assessment of this new class, launched exclusively at the beginning of January on the Paris-Lyon route. An improved version of the Optimum class, which replaced Business 1ère, Optimum+ is offered on all 19 daily return services…

Regarded as one of the essential elements of its professional offering, the 11 Grand Voyageur Le Club lounges are receiving particular attention from SNCF Voyageurs. Following the renovation of the Gare de l'Est lounge in January, the company has just reopened access to the one at Paris-Lyon after a nine-week facelift…

Travellers departing from or arriving at Paris CDG airport have just under a year to wait before discovering the CDG Express, which is expected to make its grand debut on 28 March 2027. However, alongside this dedicated line directly linking the airport to Paris-Est station, they will also be able to travel in…

A manifestation of the affordable hybrid hospitality sector that is increasingly seen in major cities, JO&JOE is set to expand its offering in France. Launched in 2016 by Accor, this brand, which straddles the line between a next-generation youth hostel and classic hotel, will benefit from a partnership established between Aken Ecosystèmes and the group…

After more than two months of work to extend its ground-floor surface area, SNCF has reopened its Grand Voyageur lounge, Le Club TGV Inoui, located in the frescoes gallery between halls 1 and 2 of Paris-Lyon station. This lounge now covers 630 m² after gaining 20…

Of course, Paris doesn't have hotel conversions quite as prestigious on its agenda as London. The British capital, for example, has just welcomed a luxurious Six Senses that revisits the former Whiteley's department store, after seeing a Raffles take up residence some time ago within the iconic Old War Office, the base...

When certain assets reach the end of their life. Leaving them in that function sometimes no longer makes sense, for several reasons. Because we realise that the neighbourhood is no longer a "prime" location or...

You are developing several hotel projects in garages or car parks in Paris, via Foncière Concorde – the joint investment company of the Galia and Terrot groups. Why this target? Samuel Gelrubin - Our group has been transforming for several years, with hospitality taking up an increasingly significant part of its business.…

Mandarin Oriental's recent news has already been significant, with the announced takeover of two legendary hotels in Egypt, the Old Cataract in Aswan and the Winter Palace in Luxor, and the opening of a resort in Majorca next June. This is now being enhanced by notable renovations. While the Asian luxury group had taken over last year…

A transition to automatic writing. In three years, since its launch in January 2023, Accor's Handwritten Collection has reached around forty operational hotels and even more in development, with 45 establishments expected in France and internationally. Among the latter is a second address in Bucharest, the Tacadra hotel, but…

While its AVE, its high-speed trains built by Talgo, already run between Lyon and Barcelona and from Marseille to Madrid, Renfe has been trying in vain for years to get these same trains approved for departure from Paris. Faced with these difficulties, as well as the lack of prospects for real progress on…

The opening of CDG Express is fast approaching, scheduled for 28 March 2027. For the first time, commercial representatives were present this week in Nice at the Rendez-vous en France trade show to present its future transport service between Gare de l’Est and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport to tourism professionals. The operator, Hello Paris…

After the pass of three, the transformation. Minor Hotels made its Paris debut just before the 2024 Olympics with the takeover of three establishments, but the Thai group, which has owned NH Hotels since 2018, has given all these addresses a facelift. Opened under the NH brand, the former...

The Yotel group, but also many other establishments. With around a hundred contemporary hotels currently under development, the Hilton group intends to double the size of its lifestyle offering across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. While its portfolio has already doubled over the last three years to reach...

For business travellers who don't give a damn about time. Opened last autumn in the Batignolles district, the Joli Môme hotel offers them a selection of wines and cheeses to share at the end of the day, between 6pm and 7pm, seated around a long table in the convivial basement area....

According to the latest figures released by the ADP Group, air traffic at the two Paris hubs of Orly and Roissy CDG slowed in February. The number of passengers rose last month by just 0.7% to 7.4 million. ADP attributes this to the Ramadan effect, which has been affecting demand since...

Change of strategy for Le Train. While the future rail company was aiming to operate direct high-speed train services between the major cities on the Atlantic seaboard, with Bordeaux-Nantes and Bordeaux-Rennes at the forefront, it has just announced that it wants to operate on the Paris-Nantes and Paris-Bordeaux routes. Two framework agreements have been signed with...

Following on from SNCF a few weeks ago, it is now Trenitalia's turn to unveil its transport plan for the May 1st bridge due to the closure of Gare de Lyon (and Bercy), where SNCF Réseau will be carrying out major work on the tracks and signal boxes. No trains will be running at...

Since the beginning of February, business travellers visiting the La Défense business district for a few days or weeks have had a new apartment hotel at their disposal, the Adagio Access Nanterre. This opening had been in the pipeline since the announcement of the partnership between the long-stay subsidiary of Accor and Pierre & Vacances and the property group...

Trenitalia will not be spared the closure of Gare de Lyon between 8pm on 30 April and 2pm on 3 May announced by SNCF Réseau a few days ago. The infrastructure manager, a subsidiary of the SNCF group, will be taking advantage of the 1st May bank holiday to carry out various works...